


Waddle you gonna do about it?

by hopelessly_me



Category: Marvel
Genre: Clint is running late, Clint rescues all the strays, Established Relationship, Hurt Animal, M/M, Post-Mission, have you heard what a penguin sounds like?, it's rather terrifying, mention of defecation, nervous Bucky, playful banter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28464240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me
Summary: Bucky is about to lose his mind when Clint is late arriving to the rendezvous spot after a mission. But it’s what Clint brought with him that was really going to make Bucky lose his mind.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 22
Kudos: 75





	Waddle you gonna do about it?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [magenta_llama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magenta_llama/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGS! I hope you have an amazing day. I was going to do something with llamas but they are kinda hard to smuggle into your cold weather gear and I thought “Hey! Arctic penguins!”. =D

This was possibly the worst part about missions- where you had to split up and rendezvous at a safehouse, and now you were stuck there, waiting. Bucky arrived first, as planned, five hours ago. Clint was supposed to arrive shortly after, roughly three hours ago, and yet-

It wasn’t that Bucky worried that Clint couldn’t handle himself, because of course he could. Clint had been handling himself, sort of at least, long before Bucky ever entered the picture. But that didn’t mean that when the guy was three hours later that Bucky didn’t worry. And if he wasn’t worrying about Clint, which was his main concern anymore, he was worrying about his public appearance, still a little shaky all these years later, even though Clint certainly helped with that. And if he wasn’t worrying about that, he had a laundry list of other things to worry about- Hydra, recapture, losing his mind-

Bucky shook his head and moved away from the window. Standing there like a worried parent wasn’t going to bring Clint home anytime sooner. And it certainly wasn’t going to do his mental health any good. So he needed to keep himself busy. He made coffee in hopes that somehow Clint’s coffee sense went off and he found his way back quicker. He sharpened his knives, not that he _really_ had to do that but he did. He checked his emails, checked his texts, even though cell service was all but shot up here, so it was really just rereading some of his old texts and emails.

At four hours late Bucky had it in his mind to gear up and go back out into the freezing cold to drag his boyfriend back. Whatever stupid shit Clint got himself wrapped up into had drove Bucky crazy for long enough. Bucky both feared and was amused by the thought of someone capturing Clint. The last time that happened they actually let him go- Clint had the ease of making himself completely, one hundred percent, obnoxious as hell and sometimes that worked in his favor. Other times though… other times Clint would be beat to hell when Bucky got to him, that cocky smirk on his face barely there as he grunted out a “took you long enough.”

Before Bucky could grab his boots he heard the most joyful of sounds, or so he hoped; he heard a snowmobile pulling up. Bucky grabbed a gun, just in case, before he glanced outside. _So much for undercover_ he thought as a purple mass got off the snowmobile. Bucky put his gun off to the side and opened the door.

“... you were supposed to be in white,” he chided.

Clint’s smile was radiant as he walked in. “And I told you white is for losers and it wasn’t going to happen.” He kissed Bucky quickly and was on the move. “Gotta pee and-”

Both of them stopped when a loud, startling honking noise filled the space between them. Bucky managed to lock the front door to their safe house before he looked at Clint. “... what was that?” he asked.

“... uh…. Drugs?” Clint answered awkwardly.

Bucky crossed his arms. “Turn around.” Clint reluctantly obeyed the request, and Bucky can’t tell if his face is red from the cold or from embarrassment. “Take off the suit.”

“But I’m warm,” Clint whined. The honking, long and loud, settled between them again and Clint’s cheeks flared up. “Okay so before you get mad…”

“Already heading that way,” Bucky said dryly.

Clint sighed and started to pull off his hat and gloves, leaving his suit for last. “So I was on my way back from the mission, right? I was _behaving_.” Bucky had serious doubts of that. “And I kinda spotted this guy.” Clint unzipped his jacket and a penguin head popped out.

“No,” Bucky said firmly. He almost would have rather pulled Clint out of enemy territory, dealt with Clint in the hospital ward for a week, all whiny and mopey; he would have rather dealt with _anything_ more than he was willing to deal with another one of Clint’s stray animal adventures. 

“I’m not _keeping_ it. That’s illegal,” Clint said in a rushed manner. “I made it to a research outpost that had decent enough cell service so I called Bruce. He found an exotic animal vet on our way back home where they are expecting this guy. I mean, I did what I could, but-”

“Those things projectile poop!” Bucky protested.

“Yeah, trust me… found that out the hard way,” Clint muttered, having the decency to at least look embarrassed. “Buck- what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t leave him. And the vet said if we get there fast enough and I keep an eye on it then the guy might not have to lose a… an... Arm-flipper-thing.”

Bucky stared at Clint in disbelief. “Did… you really just call it… an arm-flipper-thing?” he asked.

Clint unzipped his jacket the rest of the way and eased the penguin out, holding it carefully. “I know you don’t like this but I had to, okay?” he said in a defeated manner, looking down. “I couldn’t just-”

“Is it going to bite me if I come over and give you a hug?” Bucky asked.

“Probably. It’s been biting me this whole fuckin’ time. I kinda hate it,” Clint admitted before he looked up. He still looked hesitant, waiting for something to happen that Bucky wasn’t going to _let_ happen. He wasn’t going to argue, he wasn’t going to yell. Slowly, Clint started to smile. “Does this make the top ten list of crazy shit your boyfriend has put you through yet?”

“If it shits on me, yes,” Bucky answered. “Put the stupid thing down.”

“His name is Reginald,” Clint informed him, finding a blanket and wrapping it around like a bird’s nest before putting the penguin in the center.

“Don’t. Don’t name it,” Bucky requested. “You know what naming it means and we are not keeping a penguin. Remember the llama?” Clint whined before he snorted. “You stink.”

“Bird poop,” Clint answered. “And fish to keep him from biting me endlessly.” He stood in his spot, letting Bucky come to him. “I swear, the vet clinic is on the way to the extraction point.”

“We’re in Antarctica, sweetheart,” Bucky reminded Clint with a sigh. Despite the smell, he grabbed a hold of Clint and dragged him into a hug.

“Yeah, I know. We are meeting up with a team of researchers- they have a few wildlife vets on the team,” Clint replied, hugging Bucky tightly and ducking his head to cuddle in. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Yeah, well,” Bucky said. He looked over at the penguin, and he was pretty sure it was asleep now after it’s busy day. Bucky tightened his hold on Clint and closed his eyes. “Sometimes things are more important. But next time?” he said, pulling Clint’s face up to look at him. Bucky put on his best scowl. “Wear the fuckin’ white suit.”

“Never,” Clint promised before he kissed him.


End file.
